So a few of my friends have had their first children now, which is nice for me because for a few months I was the only one with a child. So it's really nice to have friends that are willing to chat endlessly about baby stuff. With this comes new opinions on everything.
The newest thing came up just the other day. The topic of immunizations has been discussed quite often, but this time it was different. One of my friends mentioned that she was going to give her son a dose of Tylenol before going to the doctor later in the week because he was going to be getting his 3 month immunizations. I had a flash to when I took my son to his first visit when he was going to get his shots. Being a first time mom I was very worried about them, as I mentioned in an earlier entry. Plus, I have noticed that mothers of preemies tend to be so concerned about things that we tend to call the doctor more often, not always true, but mostly. Anyway, I called my son's doctor the day before his appointment to ask about Tylenol because in some article it says to give your child a dose of Tylenol to help with the pain of the injection.
Well I talked to nurse and she said to make sure he is given at least half of a bottle around the time of the appointment and bring the rest of the bottle with us. She suggested to have it ready for after his shots and I could give it to him in the lobby. When I asked specifically about the Tylenol she said they do not recommend it. Curiosity took over at that point. She went on, after some prodding, to tell me that they do not recommend it because it could impact the actual reaction the child might have. She said that when children are so young (under 9 months) it is very important to know exactly how they react to the immunizations. A fever, redness and swelling around the injection are all side effects that need to be monitored. She said that I can give him Tylenol after the side effects occur to help relieve the pain but not before. This makes perfect sense the more I thought about it.
So I was just concerned about all the sources that say giving your baby a dose of Tylenol before getting injections. There is nothing wrong with getting other opinions about how to take care of your children, but some of those opinions could be just plain wrong. It is so hard to know the difference when it comes to some. I guess making sure you are well informed and then also keeping up good communication with your child's doctor are the best ways to be a good parent.
Thursday, September 17, 2009
Monday, September 7, 2009
Zoo trip
Over the long weekend my husband and I decided to go to a local zoo with our son. We figured it would be fun for us to do something different and good for him to see new animals and be outside on a beautiful day. So we packed up all the stuff we needed- bottles, bibs, stroller, cameras, stroller, carrier. It went great! Of course our little guy is only about 6 months old, so he really does not know exactly what everything it.
He spent the first ninety minutes in the carrier. He was reaching for every animal that moved, which ended up being quite a few of them. He would squeal when the bears splashed in the water like it was the best thing in the world. At the tiger exhibit there was a zoo keeper with toys that the tiger had played with and an example what his fur felt like. So we of course stopped by to check it out, mostly because my husband and I were curious. As it turned out that swatch of fur was my little guy's favorite thing. He just kept petting it over and over. He was smiling an giggling. When I started to walk away he started to cry because he did not want to leave! Luckily once we got to the next exhibit he cheered back up.
All this was great. We were having a great family day. But when we were heading over to eat lunch I went to change his diaper in the restroom. So we were at the zoo- a family place. There were like 30 stalls but only one changing table! I was shocked. There was a huge line! Who would design a bathroom in a public place that attracted families and only have one changing station. That was ridiculous. So I waited patiently but my little guy was quickly getting uncomfortable in his very full diaper. By the time we got changed and cleaned it had been almost thirty minutes. I was pretty much done with the zoo at that point.
He spent the first ninety minutes in the carrier. He was reaching for every animal that moved, which ended up being quite a few of them. He would squeal when the bears splashed in the water like it was the best thing in the world. At the tiger exhibit there was a zoo keeper with toys that the tiger had played with and an example what his fur felt like. So we of course stopped by to check it out, mostly because my husband and I were curious. As it turned out that swatch of fur was my little guy's favorite thing. He just kept petting it over and over. He was smiling an giggling. When I started to walk away he started to cry because he did not want to leave! Luckily once we got to the next exhibit he cheered back up.
All this was great. We were having a great family day. But when we were heading over to eat lunch I went to change his diaper in the restroom. So we were at the zoo- a family place. There were like 30 stalls but only one changing table! I was shocked. There was a huge line! Who would design a bathroom in a public place that attracted families and only have one changing station. That was ridiculous. So I waited patiently but my little guy was quickly getting uncomfortable in his very full diaper. By the time we got changed and cleaned it had been almost thirty minutes. I was pretty much done with the zoo at that point.
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